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      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        February 2010

        Committee governance in the European Union

        by Thomas Christiansen, Emil Kirchner, Emil Kirchner, Thomas Christiansen

        Committees are a pervasive presence in the EU policy process yet little is known about the way in which they operate. This volume, newly available in paperback, brings together an international group of experts from a number of disciplinary backgrounds to provide a comprehensive account of the role played by committees in the European Union. The book looks at committees in the context of inter-institutional relations, a focus based on the recognition that the relationships between Commission, Council, Parliament and national authorities - rather than the institutions themselves - are crucial to the understanding of European policy-making. Much of that interaction is regularised in various kinds of committees and the book provides an in-depth analysis of the nature and the effects of 'committee governance' in the EU system. A number of case studies (monetary, policy, trade, environment, spatial planning and foreign policy) examine the role of committees in specific areas. These are framed by broader perspectives which provide theoretical, statistical and normative analyses of the phenomenon of committee governance. ;

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        Literature & Literary Studies
        July 2024

        Thomas Nashe and literary performance

        by Chloe Kathleen Preedy, Rachel Willie

        As an instigator of debate and a defender of tradition, a man of letters and a popular hack, a writer of erotica and a spokesman for bishops, an urbane metropolitan and a celebrant of local custom, the various textual performances of Thomas Nashe have elicited, and continue to provoke, a range of contradictory reactions. Nashe's often incongruous authorial characteristics suggest that, as a 'King of Pages', he not only courted controversy but also deliberately cultivated a variety of public personae, acquiring a reputation more slippery than the herrings he celebrated in print. Collectively, the essays in this book illustrate how Nashe excelled at textual performance but his personae became a contested site as readers actively participated and engaged in the reception of Nashe's public image and his works.

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        Humanities & Social Sciences
        October 2012

        The European Union and industrial relations

        New procedures, new context

        by Emil Kirchner, Stijn Smismans, Thomas Christiansen

        This is the first book to provide a clear overview and innovative analysis of the multiple ways the European Union affects industrial relations. It frames the EU as the provider of both a new institutional framework and policy context for industrial relations. It first examines the European level institutional framework for industrial relations, namely the European social dialogue at cross-sectoral, sectoral and company level, as well as interactions between these and transnational developments. It then focuses on the EU's role as a driver for institutional change in industrial relations at the national level, and subsequently analyses how the EU's policy framework, such as the common market freedoms, economic governance and Agenda 2020, influences industrial relations. The book will be of great interest particularly to all those involved in industrial relations and EU studies and more generally to anyone interested in the EU's debated and contested role in socio-economic governance in the face of an economic crisis that puts into question existing national and transnational governance structures. ;

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        Humanities & Social Sciences
        April 2008

        The politics of EU accession

        Ideology, party strategy and the European question in Hungary

        by Agnes Batory, Emil Kirchner, Thomas Christiansen

        How do parties adopt and change positions on the European question? How do they balance the demands placed upon them by ideology, voters and participation in coalition government? What are the sources of Euroscepticism, and how widespread is it among the parties and the public? This book addresses these questions by examining the politics of Hungary's accession to the European Union, from the early 1990s to 2004. The book provides a conceptually grounded yet accessible analysis of the way questions related to EU membership, and European integration in general, are channelled into political life. Starting with a comparative exploration of the impact of European integration on party politics in Western and Eastern Europe, the book goes on to review the Hungarian political parties' history, ideological profiles, electoral competition and coalition-building in government and opposition, as well as the dynamics of public opinion. It will be of interest to academics concerned with the contestation of European integration in EU member states, and specifically with party politics in Central and Eastern European. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        January 2013

        The transatlantic divide

        Foreign and security policies in the Atlantic Alliance from Kosovo to Iraq

        by Osvaldo Croci, Emil Kirchner, Amy Verdun, Thomas Christiansen

        This books, available in paperback for the first time, examines the period between the military intervention against Serbia by NATO and the one in Iraq by the US. It has been a particularly turbulent one for transatlantic security relations. Is the malaise currently affecting the Transatlantic Alliance more serious than ever before and if so why? Will differences in the assessment of how to provide order and stability in the international system as well as in the evaluation of threats and how to respond to them mark the end of the Transatlantic Alliance? Or will the US, NATO, the EU, and EU member states work together, using different instruments and accepting a degree of division of labour, to pacify, stabilise and rebuild troublesome areas as they have done in South-Eastern Europe? This book, with contributions from leading American, Canadian and European scholars, analyses the reasons behind the latest crisis of the Transatlantic Alliance and dissects its manifestations. ;

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        Business, Economics & Law
        November 2012

        The activation of citizenship in Europe

        by Thomas Pfister, Emil Kirchner, Thomas Christiansen

        This instructive study examines how a transnational discourse on 'modern' social policy - based the guiding principles of 'activation' and an 'activating welfare state' - intervenes in the concepts and practices of citizenship. What are the consequences of this reorientation for citizenship? How does it relate to patterns of exclusion and inequality inherent in each historical citizenship formation? What exactly is the EU's role in this context? The detailed qualitative study focuses on the European Employment Strategy - and in particular its gender equality dimension - as a central process where the activation agenda is constructed and equipped with meanings. It traces how this discourse is received and translated into practices of citizenship in three EU member states - Germany, the UK, and Hungary. The activation of citizenship in Europe will be principally of interest to academics and practitioners in the fields of European integration, social policy, and citizenship. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        January 2013

        The EU and its neighbours

        Values versus security in European foreign policy

        by Gergana Noutcheva, Emil Kirchner, Karolina Pomorska, Thomas Christiansen, Giselle Bosse

        Is there a tension between the normative fundamentals and strategic objectives of European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP)? Is 'values versus security' an unavoidable choice to be made by the EU and its neighbours or, rather, a false dichotomy? The book argues that what is often considered a fundamental dilemma of EU foreign policy - a choice between the EU's values and its quest for security - misrepresents a much more complex reality in which values and security interplay to shape the EU's external positions. The book proposes an original conceptual framework for examining the complex interaction between values and security and situates the ENP in the broader conceptual debate about European Foreign Policy. In this way, it goes beyond the early scholarship on ENP, mainly inspired by the EU enlargement literature. The book examines the EU's evolving relations with its immediate neighbours in areas such as democracy promotion, Common Foreign and Security Policy, conflict management and resolution and soft security issues such as energy or immigration policy. By covering the whole range of EU external relations policies, the contributions to the volume provide a very unique opportunity to compare the complex interplay between values and security and its impacts across the wide policy spectrum of ENP. ;

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        Humanities & Social Sciences
        June 2010

        Mothering the Union

        Gender politics in the EU

        by Roberta Guerrina, Emil Kirchner, Thomas Christiansen

        This exciting book, newly available in paperback, investigates the scope of maternity legislation and family-friendly policies in the European Union. The wider context of the analysis is the development of equal rights as part of a European social dimension. The book is concerned with the influence of values and beliefs about women, equality, politics and employment on the scope of equal rights and maternity provisions. It provides answers to the following questions - what are the stated objectives of family-friendly policies? Which values transpire from the analysis of maternity rights? How do gender power hierarchies shape the overall aim of policies for the reconciliation between work and family life? Through the use of two case studies - one from Italy and one from the UK - it uncovers the values that underpin the policy making process and gives concrete examples of gender policies in action. It will be of vital benefit to anyone studying gender and gender policies in a specific European Union context. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        October 2005

        Constructing the path to eastern enlargement

        The uneven policy impact of EU identity

        by Ulrich Sedelmeier, Emil Kirchner, Thomas Christiansen

        This book examines the two main dimensions of the European Union's enlargement to eight central and eastern European countries (CEECs) in 2004. Why did the EU agree to enlargement, despite the costs for some incumbents who have veto-power? How can we explain the (uneven) pattern of accommodation of the CEECs' preferences in concrete policies? Combining in-depth empirical analysis with an original theoretical framework, which draws on insights from constructivism and historical institutionalism, this book focuses on the EU's discursively constructed role-identity vis-à-vis the CEECs. This role-identity forged a group of policy advocates inside the European Commission, who promoted the CEECs' preferences inside the EU, and induced a path-dependence into the enlargement process. The impact of EU identity on concrete policies was less direct. Case studies on trade liberalisation, regulatory alignment, and foreign policy consultations demonstrate that sectoral policy paradigms are a key factor that mediates the influence of the policy advocates on specific policy areas. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        July 2013

        EU foreign and security policy in Bosnia

        The politics of coherence and effectiveness

        by Ana Juncos, Emil Kirchner, Thomas Christiansen

        This book represents the first ever comprehensive study of the EU's foreign and security policy in Bosnia. Drawing on a wealth of fresh empirical material, it demonstrates that institutions are a key variable in explaining levels of common foreign security policy (CFSP) coherence and effectiveness over time. In doing so, it also sheds new light on the role that intergovernmental, bureaucratic and local political contestation have played in the formulation and implementation of a European foreign policy. The study concludes that the EU's involvement in Bosnia has not only had a significant impact on this Balkan country in its path from stabilisation to integration, but has also transformed the EU, its foreign and security policy and shaped the development of the EU's international identity along the way. The book will be of great interest to researchers and students of EU politics, International Relations and Bosnian politics. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        February 2006

        Democratic citizenship and the European Union

        by Albert Weale, Emil Kirchner, Thomas Christiansen

        This book analyses the political legitimacy of the European Union, taking democratic citizenship seriously. Developing a distinctive normative theory of political association, it evaluates the project of European integration in terms of democratic values. It argues that the goods of democratic citizenship have been advanced by European integration in many respects, including environmental policy. In other respects, including social policy, democratic citizenship is best advanced by keeping primary political authority at the level of the nation-state. Weale develops these arguments through an original interplay of political science and political theory. The contents combine original normative political theory, drawing on the concept of practical reason, with applications to the fields of social policy, environmental policy, security policy and enlargement. The book is primarily an original work of political theory, but it will be of interest to all those concerned about the future of the European Union. It is written in a style that makes it accessible to students on advanced courses as well as specialists. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        June 2011

        Democratic Participation and Civil Society in the European Union

        by Dawid Friedrich, Emil Kirchner, Thomas Christiansen

        Can the participation of civil society organisations democratise policy making in the European Union? This book challenges the widespread optimism about civil society participation in European governance and offers a nuanced and realistic evaluation of its democratic potential. Friedrich argues that the participation of these groups is only of democratic value if participatory patterns are democratised through appropriate institutional means. This book systematically brings together insights from normative democratic theory with an empirical evaluation of concrete policy-processes. It demonstrates that the participation of civil society organisation cannot be conceived as a panacea for the European Union's democratic deficit, because the participatory pattern of EU policy-making violates the key democratic value of political equality. This book will be of interest to all of those concerned about the future of European democracy, those studying and teaching European politics, the European Union, international relations and democratic theory. ;

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